Closure device



July 29, 1969 H. K. BRYsoN ET AL 3,458,227

1 CLosuRE DEVICE Filed June 28, 1967 FIG' 3 B INVENTORS H. KNOX BRYSON MLFOYD A. JUTEN United States Patent O W 3,458,227 CLOSURE DEVICE Henry Knox Bryson, R0. Box 8542, St. Petersburg, Fla.

33738, and Milford A. Juten, 4008 61st St., Washington, D.C. 20016 Filed June 28, 1967, Ser. No. 649,724 Int. Cl. Eb 15/02 U.S. Cl. 292-341.14 9 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A closure device for covering the bolt receiving aperture in a keeper and particularly for use in a door having its bolt projecting from the bottom end of a door into a bolt receiving aperture in a threshold on the floor. The structure is designed to provide a smooth floor or threshold surface which is free of indentations and openings into which womens spike heels may project With resulting darnage to shoes and possibility of injury to people. The closure for the bolt receiving aperture of the keeper is mounted for movement from a position covering the bolt receiving aperture to a position out of the way so the bolt of the door lock can be projected into the bolt receiving aperture and yieldable means in the form of springs or the like are provided to retain the closure in its closed or open position and also positive latch means are provided to retain the closure in its closed position.

The present invention relates to building hardware and more particularly to a lock bolt receiving keeper with means to cover the bolt receiving aperture of the keeper when the lock bolt is in its withdrawn position and the door is free to open and close without interference from the closure covering the bolt receiving aperture of the keeper.

Heretofore, doors have been provided with lock bolts and some lock bolts have been arranged to project downwardly from the bottom edge of a door into a bolt receiving aperture in a keeper structure whether such keeper structure was the threshold of a door or a separate keeper plate. To effectively lock a door, it is essential that the bolt be of substantial size and accordingly the lock receiving aperture of the keeper had to be of sufficient size to receive the bolt of the lock, With the advent of spike heels with very small points, such spike heels have been inadvertently inserted into the aperture in the keeper with damage to the heel and frequently injury to the wearer. Although some cover structures have been provided for keeper plates, they have not been entirely satisfactory and have not been foolproof and damage suits have been sustained against the owners of buildings for resulting injuries and damage.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a closure structure to cover the opening in a lock bolt receiving keeper plate to prevent damage and injury resulting from the prior art structures.

Another object is to provide a closure structure which will effectively be retained in a desired position to permit locking a door with the lock bolt or to permit free opening and closing of the door.

Other and further objects will be apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a fragment of a threshold with a closure plug including a flange pivotally mounted by strut elements adapted to lie within shallow grooves in the threshold.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showing the closure plug in dotted lines in its open position and showing a door with its lock bolt overlying the threshold.

3,458,227 Patented July 29, 1969 FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on line 3 3 of FIGURE 2 showing the pivotal mounting of the wire-like struts.

FIGURES 3A and 3B are fragmentary sections on an enlarged scale of a modified form of pivot showing the pivot in position closing the keeper opening and showing the method of mounting the closure structure, respectively.

FIGURE 4 is an inverted plan view of a threshold, a keeper plate mounted thereon, and a pivoted closure with over-center spring means to retain the closure in closed full line position.

FIGURE 5 is a section taken substantially on broken line SS of FIGURE 4 showing the over-center spring arrangement and the positive latch for retaining the closure in open and closed positions.

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of another closure structure in its lock bolt receiving position.

FIGURE 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 of FIG URE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a bottom view of the structure of FIG- URE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a modification of the structures of FIG- URES 6 to 8, inclusive, showing the keeper mounted on the floor underlying the threshold.

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary section of a closure structure mounted with its upper surface substantially flush with a floor in which the keeper plate is secured directly to the floor.

Briefly the present invention provides for effectively closing the bolt receiving aperture of a keeper structure by means of a plug or plate which is mounted for movement from a position closing the bolt receiving aperture with a substantially ush closure with the adjacent portion of the door frame, threshold, floor, door frame, or the like to provide a substantially smooth surface and the closure of the present invention is shown as pivotally mounted for movement to the keeper exposure position wherein the door may be closed and the door lock bolt projected into the keeper or the keeper closure structure can be moved to the closed position completely concealing the bolt receiving aperture of the keeper.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, a section of a threshold T is provided with a bolt receiving aperture A into which a lock bolt B may be projected to retain a door D in its closed position. A closure C, shown as a rectangular plug, is provided with a flange F and is adapted to be received in the aperture A with the flange F being received in a rabbet formed around the periphery of the aperture A so that the exposed surface of the closure plug C is susbtantially flush with the upper surface of the threshold. A pair of struts S, shown as being of wire, are secured in apertures in the closure plug C at one end and have their other ends extending away from the closure plug and formed into an eye and lying in a plane the thickness of the wire and being received in a groove G milled downwardly through the upper surface of the threshold with the groove continuing beyond pivot pins 10 which extend through the eye and are secured in pin receiving aligned openings on opposite sides of a recess 11 whereby the closure plug C can be moved from the full line position closing the aperture A to the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 1.

To positively retain the closure plug C in closed position, a shaft 12 having a slotted head 13 is rotatably mounted in the closure plug C and carries a latch 14 secured to the shaft 12 by any suitable means whereby the slotted head 13 may be engaged by a screw driver or a coin and rotated to the locking position of the latch 14 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, or the latch 14 may be rotated to an unlocked position whereby the closure plug C may be moved to its aperture exposing position 3 shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1. To facilitate raising the closure plug C, a recess is providel in the threshold T and cooperates with a similar recess 16a in the flange F so that a coin or screw driver could be inserted to positively raise the closure plug C.

The pivot structure of FIGURE 3 includes the removable pins 10 which are readily inserted through the recess 11 into the eyes of the strut. In FIGURES 3A and 3B a modified form of pivot is provided by milling the groove G in a manner previously described and drilling holes to provide a square pivot 16 which cooperates with a strut 17 of spring wire which is formed into a coil 18 of one or more turns and then bent back on itself at 19 to underlie the pivot 16 and then bent up at 20 to engage the pivot, thereby substantially surrounding the square pivot 16. The shape of the pivot 16 and of the wire strut 17 to 20 is such that the closure plug C will be resiliently retained in its closed position as shown in FIGURE 1 and also resiliently retained in its open position Vas shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2. Further, the closure plug mounting shown in FIGURES 3A and 3B can be inserted in a threshold without removing the threshold by milling the groove G by a suitable instrument such as a saw or the like and then drilling the holes 21 and 21 by any suitable means to provide the square pivot 16 and the strut can be inserted in position by means of a screw driver 22 which may engage the pivot 16 and the portion 20.

It will also be apparent that the closure plug may be of circular cross section and a single strut S may be used for mounting the closure plug.

Referring to FIGURES 4 and 5, a threshold T is provided with a keeper plate K secured to the threshold by suitable fasteners 25 with a bolt receiving aperture A in such keeper plate and such bolt receiving aperture lies within an aperture 26 formed in the threshold which aperture 26 is closed by the flat closure plate 27 which is pivotally mounted at one edge by a hinge 2S recessed within the surface of the threshold T and fixed to the threshold by suitable fasteners and to the closure 27 by other suitable fasteners so that the closure may pivot from the full line position shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 to the dotted line position of FIGURE 5 and such closure plate 27 is positively retained in closing position by a latch 30' operated by a shaft 31 having a slotted head 32 similar to that previously described and the latch is adapted to extend within a recess 33 in the free edge of the closure 27. At tool receiving recess similar to that formed at 15 and 16 is provided to positively raise the closure plate 27. The closure plate is yieldably retained in its closed position as well as in its open position by a coil spring 34 having one arm 35 pivotally connected to the plate 27 and the other arm 36 pivotally connected by an eye formed in the end thereof on the horizontal portion 37 of an L-shaped bolt having the other leg 38 fixed to the threshold whereby the coil spring 34 will effectively retain the closure plate 27 in either the full line position or the dotted line position by the movement of the pivotal connection 39 of the spring arm 35 with the closure 27 as such pivot point passes the pivot of the hinge 28.

In FIGURES 6 to 8 a modification includes a closure plate 50 pivotally mounted by hinge leaves 51, 51 secured to the threshold and a cooperating hinge leaf 51 secured to the plate 50 intermediate the edges thereof and substantially parallel to a closed door D having a bolt B adapted to penetrate the aperture A in the keeper K fixed to the threshold T. A spring 52 coiled around a portion of the hinge pin 53 adajacent one end reacts between the threshold T and the closure plate 50 `to cause the closure plate to assume its full line or open position as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, with the bolt shown as penetrating the keeper aperture A in keeper K.

To positively retain the closure plate 50 in closed position a latch 54 carried by a shaft 55 having a slotted head reeived in a countersunk bore in the threshold T provides for positively locking the plate 50 in its closed position against the tension of the spring 52. In the event that spring 52 does not have sufficient tension to open the closure plate 50, downward force may be applied to the edge portion 56 of the plate 50 on the side of the pivot pin 53 away from the keeper aperture A.

FIGURE 9 is a modification of the structures of FIG- URES l to S, inclusive, and shows the keeper mounted on the floor F rather than on the threshold T.

In FIGURE 10` another modification shows a plate 60 recessed into the floor F and carrying a closure plate 61 pivotally mounted on a shaft 62 in a manner previously described, while a separate keeper plate K is mounted in a further recess in the floor F immediately beneath the plate 60 and the closure plate 61.

The present invention is particularly useful with tempered glass doors which have only a top and bottom rail and the bottom rail carries the key operated lock bolt so the lock Ibolt in its projected position extends into the bolt receiving aperture A of the keeper K in the floor. In commercial installations the doors open outwardly and the door is usually key locked from the outside so it is essential that the closure for the keeper aperture be held in its keeper uncovering or raised position when the door is closed for key locking. This feature is provided for in all forms of the invention since the closure C for the keeper aperture A is in open position after the closure latch 14, 30, or 54 is released and the closure C is removed from the keeper K. This feature of maintaining the closure for the keeper aperture in its open position is also particularly useful for a pair of doors where one of the doors is locked in closed position by the usual flush bolts operated from the free edge of the door or from the inside of the door and where the other door is locked by a key operated lock bolt projecting into the bolt receiving aperture of a keeper in the swinging edge of the first door. It is also useful where the other door is locked by a key operated lock bolt to project into a keeper aperture in the floor since the keeper in the floor for the other door carrying the key lock bolt must be uncovered for key locking from the outside.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made within the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A lock bolt keeper structure for mounting in a door frame comprising a keeper plate for use on a door frame adjacent an edge of a closed door mounted in the frame, means to mount the keeper on the door frame, said keeper having an opening for the reception of a Ibolt of a door lock adapted to extend from an edge of the door into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper to retain the door in fixed position when the bolt of the door is extended into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, a closure of a size to close the bolt receiving opening of the keeper to prevent inadvertent insertion of foreign objects into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, means to mount the closure on the door frame for movement from one position closing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper with the outer surface of the closure substantially flush with the adjacent portion of the door frame to provide a substantially unobstructed flush surface between the frame and edge of the door and for movement to another position of the closure whereby the closure is out of the way of the closed door exposing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper for reception of the bolt extending from the edge of the door into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, and positive latch means to retain the closure in the position closing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which the latching portion of the positive latch means is mounted for movement transverse to the direction of movement of the closure.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which the positive latch means is pivotally mounted.

4. A lock bolt keeper structure for mounting in a door frame comprising a keeper plate for use on a door frame adjacent an edge of a closed door mounted in the frame, means to mount the keeper on the door frame, said keeper having an opening for the reception of a bolt of a door lock adapted to extend from an edge of the door into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper to retain the door in fixed position when the bolt of the door is extended into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, a closure of a size to close the bolt receiving opening of the keeper to prevent inadvertent insertion of foreign objects into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, means to mount the closure on the door frame for movement from one position closing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper with the outer surface of the closure substantially iush with the adjacent portion of the door frame to provide a substantially unobstructed flush surface between the frame and edge of the door and for movement to anoher position of the closure whereby the closure is out of the way of the closed door exposing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper for reception of the bolt extending from the edge of the door into the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, and positive latch means to retain the closure in the position closing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper, the exterior surface of the closure lying substantially flush with the plate in closed position and the mounting means for the closure includes a pivot located in the door frame in a position away from the door relative to the surface of the door frame adjacent the door, and the means to mount the closure includes strut means of suicient length to move the closure out of the way of the door and the bolt'when the bolt is in the keeper, said keeper plate being provided with grooves opening toward the door for receiving the strut means when the closure is in the one position closing the bolt receiving opening of the keeper whereby the surface of the door frame adjacent the said edge of a closed door is substantially ush.

5. The invention according to claim 4 in which the closure is a flanged plug with the flange substantially flush with the plate.

6. The invention according to claim 4 in which yieldable means are provided to retain the closure in at least one of its open and closed positions.

7. The invention according to claim 6 in which the yieldable means is an over center spring.

8. The invention according to claim 6 in which the yieldable means is a resilient strip engaging a non-circular pivot shaped to retain the closure in either its closed or open position.

9. The invention according to claim 6 in which the positive means provided to retain the closure in closed position is a pivoted latch mounted on one of said door frame and closure and operable from the outer surface of said first plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,238 12/1884 Mix 292-341.14 518,405 4/1894 Heymonson 292-34l.14 1,005,906 10/1911 Varner 292-391.14

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner EDWARD J. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner 

